Empowering young people to be socially and environmentally conscious global leaders

First Year Program

Young Leaders, Global Impact

Through experiential activities, workshops, retreats, community service in Seattle, and a cultural immersion to Guatemala, GV prepares Seattle-area high school students to define and address environmental and social justice issues in their communities while developing as leaders and becoming more aware of their global citizenship.

We offer three versions of our program to accommodate all schedules.

Spring Program: This program travels to Guatemala during Seattle Public School District’s spring break. It has a two hour orientation, a weekend retreat, community service component and a twelve-days cultural immersion trip to Guatemala.

Summer Program: Our traditional program meets approximately once per month throughout the school year, and includes a weekend retreat, a community service component and two-week cultural immersion trip to Guatemala.

Intensive Program: For students who are not available after school during the school year, we offer an intensive version of the program, which condenses the year-long curriculum into workshops scheduled on the three days prior to the two-week cultural immersion trip to Guatemala.

Once in Guatemala, participants live with a homestay family and work alongside teens from Guatemala on service projects. You will also have the opportunity to improve your Spanish language skills in daily language class, learn Salsa, and explore the history and culture of Guatemala.

More information about the First Year Leadership program can be found below or by clicking on the “First Year Program FAQs” quick link. If you have any questions contact programs@global-visionaries.org.

See below for a complete 2019-20 program calendar for each of GV's First Year program cohorts.

Spring Cohort

Summer Cohort

Intensive Cohort

Early Bird Deadline

October 14, 2019

October 14, 2019

October 14, 2019

Application Deadline

October 28, 2019

October 28, 2019

October 28, 2019

Acceptance Notification

November 1, 2019

November 1, 2019

November 1, 2019

Orientation*

November 6, 2019

November 7, 2019

November 8, 2019

Fundraising Workshop (optional)

November 14, 2019

November 14, 2019

November 14, 2019

Fundraising Workshop (optional)

November 21, 2019

November 21, 2019

November 21, 2019

Wreath Distribution

December 5, 2019

December 5, 2020

December 5, 2020

Culture Night #1

N/A

December 11, 2019

N/A

Seattle Tilth Day (opt. 1)

TBD

TBD

N/A

Culture Night #2

N/A

January 15, 2020

N/A

EarthCorps Day (opt. 1)

January 25, 2020

January 25, 2020

N/A

Culture Night #3

N/A

February 12, 2020

N/A

EarthCorps Day (opt. 2)

February 1, 2020

February 1, 2020

N/A

Seattle Tilth Day (opt. 2)

TBD

TBD

N/A

Culture Night #4

N/A

Mar 25, 2020

N/A

Culture Night #5

N/A

May 6, 2020

N/A

Pre-immersion Retreat

March 7-8, 2020

May 15-17, 2020

N/A

Pre-departure Meeting*

March 31, 2020

June 17, 2020

July 19, 2019

Pre-immersion Workshop

N/A

N/A

July 30-August 1, 2019

Immersion**

April 12-23, 2020

June 29-July 13, 2020

July 27-August 10, 2020

Storytelling Potluck

May 21, 2020

July 31, 2020

August 25, 2020

*Parents and participants and required to attend this meeting.

**These dates are subject to change +/- 2 days as a result of fluctuations in air ticket prices and/or school closures (snow days). We will communicated changes in the immersion dates as soon as available.

Parents and students are required to attend a program orientation. At this orientation, former first year program participants and staff provide an overview of the first year program, review important dates and forms, and answer any questions you may have about the program.

Fundraising

Global Visionaries works closely with youth and families to offer structured fundraising opportunities. These opportunities include: Chinook Book and wreath & garland sales in the fall, coffee sales in the winter and spring, and letter writing campaigns year-round. GV staff will support you to raise 30% or more of your program fees.

Culture Nights (Summer cohort only)

Culture nights are 2-hour meetings that occur once a month throughout the year for Spring and Summer participants. Culture nights are designed to teach Global Visionaries curriculum to participants; elevating their awareness of social and environmental justice around the world, as well as the culture and history of Guatemala. Intensive participants do not take part in Culture Nights.

Local Service Work

All Spring and Summer participants are required to complete a minimum of 12 hours of service before the cultural immersion experience in Guatemala. Intensive participants can participate on an optional basis. We offer multiple dates for service work throughout the year in partnership with our two local partner organizations. To learn more about Seattle Tilth click here. To learn more about EarthCorps click here.

Retreats

Each year youth participate in a weekend retreats. A day-long fall retreat and an overnight winter/early spring retreat. The day-long fall retreat is a welcome event that introduces participants to their peers and sets the tone for the rest of the program year. During the overnight retreat in winter/early spring students learn about imperialism and oppression, what their experience in Guatemala will be like, and most of all, each other.

Parents and students are required to attend a program orientation. At this orientation, former first year program participants and staff provide an overview of the first year program, review important dates and forms, and answer any questions you may have about the program.

Fundraising

Global Visionaries works closely with youth and families to provide structured fundraising opportunities. These opportunities include: Chinook Book and wreath & garland sales in the fall, coffee sales in the winter and spring, and letter writing campaigns year-round. GV staff will support you to raise 30% or more of your program fees.

Three-day Workshop

For youth that cannot participate in the year-long leadership program, Global Visionaries offers a condensed version of the program each summer. Instead of meeting monthly throughout the school year, Intensive participants will cover all program curriculum during a three-day workshop prior to travel. The workshop introduces participants to systematic oppression, environmental conservation, global citizenry, and Guatemalan culture and history. See the "Important Program Dates" tab above for exact workshop and travel dates.

After the workshop, intensive participants take part in the same immersion experience as the year-long participants.

Building on the foundation created by the local service performed in Seattle, youth work with the Guatemalan youth on the following projects:

Coffee farming (Spring program only)

Reforestation projects (Summer/Intensive programs only)

Long-term care hospital support

School and community center construction work

Overall, participants will earn 32 service hours during the Guatemala immersion.

Spanish Lessons

Spanish school is a great way to learn more about Guatemalan culture while improving communication. Each participant will have their own teacher who teaches at their level. Spanish school is 3 hours after lunch every day for the first 5 days. Overall, participants gain over 150 hours of language immersion through homestays, work teams, and cultural excursions with Guatemalan youth participants.

Homestays

While in Guatemala, each participant and one or two of their group-mates will stay with a local Guatemalan family in their home. Homestay families cook and provide traditional Guatemalan food for the students. The homestay brings participants closer to the Guatemalan culture and is often one of the most impactful immersion experiences for youth.

Fun & Adventure

Participants will also have the chance to see Mayan ruins, take a trip to Antigua, Guatemala, and loosen up with Salsa dance lessons.

Please schedule an interview at your school with one of the teachers listed below as soon as possible. Waiting until the last minute will put your chance of getting an interview at risk. After your interview, the teacher will return an interview form to us.

If you do not attend one of the schools listed below, please call Global Visionaries at (206) 322-9448 or email us to schedule an interview with one of our program staff at our office.

Program cost is based on a sliding scale in order to increase equity and accessibility of our program. Our scale is base on program cohort, household income, and family size.

While we cannot guarantee a specific amount of financial aid, we are committed to working with every family to make our program accessible and affordable. Please contact our program staff, programs@global-visionaries.org to discuss your situation, even if you feel that you do not qualify for financial aid.

If parents are separated or divorced, and you are applying for financial aid, please provide financial information for the person who claims the child on their tax forms.

Spring and Intensive Program Cost

Program Fees: $3,350 + Estimated Airfare: $1000

Total Program Cost: $4,350

The table below estimates financial aid amount and program cost based on household income.

Family Income

Estimated Scholarship Package

Estimated Program Cost + Airfare

​$0-$15,000

$4,050-$3,910

$300-$440

$15,001-$20,000

$3,910-$3,710

$440-$640

​$20,001-$30,000

$3,710-$3,510

$640-$840

$30,001-$40,000

$3,410-$3,010

$940-$1,340

​$40,001-$50,000

$3,010-$2,500

$1,340-$1,850

$50,001-$60,000

$2,500-$2,050

$1,850-$2,300

$60,001-$70,000

$2,050-$1,530

$2,300-$2,820

​$70,001-$80,000

$1,530-$1,010

$2,820-$3,340

$80,001-$90,000

$1,010-$730

$3,340-$3,620

​$90,001-$100,000

$730-$530

$3,620-$3,820

​$100,001-$110,000

$530-$325

$3,820-$4,025

$110,001-$150,000

$325-$175

$4,025-$4,175

$150,000-$200,000

$175-$100

$4,175-$4,250

$200,000 - $ 250,000

$100-$0

$4,250-$4,350

Summer Program Cost

Program Fees: $3,825 + Estimated Airfare: $1000

Total Program Cost: $4,825

The table below estimates financial aid amount and program cost based on household income.

Global Visionaries works closely with participants and families to provide structured fundraising opportunities. These opportunities include: Chinook Book and wreath & garland sales in the fall, coffee sales in the winter and spring, and letter writing campaigns year-round. GV staff will support you to raise 30% or more of your program fees.

Global Visionaries believes in student-led fundraising because: 1) fundraising empowers youth to take ownership of their experience, and 2) fundraising lifts the financial burden off of parents.

Please join us at a Fundraising Workshop to learn more about what options are available to you. See the "Important Program Dates" tab for details.

Both courses require students to write journal entries throughout their immersion, so if you are interested in applying for credit, please plan to keep a journal in Guatemala.

*Prices subject to change. All fees for college credit are paid to SCC directly, not Global Visionaries.

Before You Register

Participants have one year from the time of completing the First Year Leadership program to apply for credits. For example, if you travel with GV in April 2019, you must apply for the credits before April 2020.

Additionally, participants must be 16 years or older by the September following their immersion to apply for credits. If you are not 16, you may retroactively apply for the credit once you turn 16.

These credits are considered “restricted” electives for students attending Seattle Central College. Five credits may apply toward the elective area of the Associate of Arts degree. We strongly encourage you to check with any colleges or universities you are applying to or know that you plan to attend to find out if they will accept the credits before registering and paying for credits.

Credits can also be applied to a high school transcript for high school credit. Check first with your high school counselor for details.